Preparing for Civil Service Examination: Reading Comprehension Practice 8

Do you often worry about how to improve your reading comprehension level efficiently? Now, our website has carefully prepared a series of reading comprehension questions closely related to Civil Service Examination, covering a wide range of topics and question types, aiming to hone your reading analysis and comprehension skills in all aspects.

Read the passages and answer the questions that follow. Good luck!

 

Thirty percent of health spending in the United States in 2009—about $750 billion—was wasted on unnecessary services, excessive administration costs, fraud, and other problems, a government advisory panel said Thursday.

The report from the Institute of Medicine urges that changes be made to the United States healthcare system to reduce costs and improve care.

Institute of Medicine experts added, however, that inefficiency, a vast amount of data, and other economic and quality issues obstruct efforts to improve health and threaten the nation’s economic stability and global competitiveness, the document warned.

Numerous inefficiencies caused needless suffering. One estimate indicates that about 75,000 deaths might have been prevented in 2005 if every state had delivered healthcare at the level of the bestperforming state.

Gradual upgrades and changes by individual hospitals or healthcare providers are inadequate to solve the problems, the report committee said.

“Achieving higher-quality care at lower cost will require an acrossthe-board commitment to transform the U.S. health system into a ‘learning’ system that continuously improves by systematically capturing and broadly disseminating lessons from every care experience and new research discovery,” according to an Institute of Medicine news release.

Solutions include greater use of electronic health records, promoting patient and family involvement in healthcare decision making, and quicker adoption of medical breakthroughs.

“It will necessitate embracing new technologies to collect and tap clinical data at the point of care, engaging patients and their families as partners, and establishing greater teamwork and transparency within healthcare organizations,” according to the news release. “Also, incentives and payment systems should emphasize the value and outcomes of care.”

“The nation has the knowledge and tools to improve the health system so it can provide better quality care at lower cost,” the report authors said.

“The threats to Americans’ health and economic security are clear and compelling, and it’s time to get all hands on deck,” report committee chairman Mark Smith, president and CEO of California HealthCare Foundation, said in the news release.

 

1. This passage is primarily concerned with
a. the advancement of technology to better aid the healthcare system.
b. the pain and suffering current patients are living with due to an incompetent system.
c. the paramount necessity to lower spending while boosting care quality within the medical field.
d. the ill effects of poorly appropriated budget and its inadvertent consequences.
e. the inevitable decline in our healthcare due to fraud, theft, and shoddy products.

Correct Answer: e

Answer Explanation:

The first line of the second paragraph states that the report the passage concerns urges changes be made to our healthcare system to lower cost while improving healthcare quality. The advancement of technology is a supporting idea, but isn’t mentioned enough to be the primary concern. An increase in pain and suffering is an outcome of the main idea. A poorly appropriated budget is also a supporting idea, as is the inevitable decline of healthcare for various reasons.

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2. Which of the following is NOT being suggested to change our healthcare system?
a. gradual upgrades and changes by individual hospitals
b. the implementation of an ever-evolving healthcare system
c. encouraging families to get involved with sick relatives’ prognosis and treatment
d. using the knowledge and resources already available to make substantial headway
e. digitalizing our record system

Correct Answer: a

Answer Explanation:

Gradual upgrades and changes are cited as inadequate and part of the problem. Choice b is incorrect; it is suggested that a learning system be implemented. The seventh paragraph references encouraging family involvement in patient care, so choice c is incorrect. The second-to-last paragraph suggests that we already have the know-how and technology, so choice d is incorrect. The eighth paragraph states the intent of electronic health records, so choice e is incorrect.

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3. The author of the passage would be most likely to agree with which of the following statements?
a. Obamacare should be implemented at once.
b. The U.S. healthcare system has the wherewithal to be much better than it is, but due to human error it remains redundant and ineffective.
c. This country is in desperate need of a universal healthcare system.
d. In spite of its ineffectiveness, the United States still has one of the strongest healthcare systems.
e. Insurance companies that do not process individuals’ claims because of legal loopholes should be disenfranchised.

Correct Answer: b

Answer Explanation:

The passage provides examples of a number of human errors involved in the healthcare system, such as fraud, excessive cost, and unnecessary spending. A diligent recommitment by people involved is recommended to fix the healthcare system. Neither Obamacare nor a universal healthcare system is ever mentioned, rendering choices a and c incorrect. The United States ranking among worldwide healthcare systems is never mentioned, so choice d is incorrect. Insurance companies are arguably part of the problem, but the conclusion in choice e cannot be drawn with no reference to them.

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